O
oilfreeandhappy
Guest
There has been talk on this board stating that a single-occupant
automobile sometimes has less fuel usage than light rail or buses. The
data put forth for the most part was accurate, but it ignores all the
other stages of fuel usage that is prevalent in an automobile and oil
economy. Consider these facts:
1. 65% of the oil used in the US is imported, most of it from the other
side of the world. This oil is shipped in tankers which use vast
amounts of oil. Electricity is mostly powered from local
fuels/sources.
2. Incredible amounts of oil and other types of energy are used in road
paving and repair.
3. Steel manufacture is a major user of all types of energy.
Automobiles, bridges, roads (many road surfaces have steel grids in the
form of rebar or heavy gage cables), barriers are all comprised of
steel. Yes, light rail uses steel, but much less. Once the tracks are
laid, that's it, and the life of railcars is much longer than
automobiles.
I'm sure there is much more that I missed - escort ships for oil
shipments, service industries for the automobile (traffic police,
traffic courts, etc), oil spill cleanup associated energy costs, oil
exploration, etc.).
So, as you can see, to simply take a BTU figure for gasoline used by a
car vs. electricity used by light rail does not represent the whole
picture.
automobile sometimes has less fuel usage than light rail or buses. The
data put forth for the most part was accurate, but it ignores all the
other stages of fuel usage that is prevalent in an automobile and oil
economy. Consider these facts:
1. 65% of the oil used in the US is imported, most of it from the other
side of the world. This oil is shipped in tankers which use vast
amounts of oil. Electricity is mostly powered from local
fuels/sources.
2. Incredible amounts of oil and other types of energy are used in road
paving and repair.
3. Steel manufacture is a major user of all types of energy.
Automobiles, bridges, roads (many road surfaces have steel grids in the
form of rebar or heavy gage cables), barriers are all comprised of
steel. Yes, light rail uses steel, but much less. Once the tracks are
laid, that's it, and the life of railcars is much longer than
automobiles.
I'm sure there is much more that I missed - escort ships for oil
shipments, service industries for the automobile (traffic police,
traffic courts, etc), oil spill cleanup associated energy costs, oil
exploration, etc.).
So, as you can see, to simply take a BTU figure for gasoline used by a
car vs. electricity used by light rail does not represent the whole
picture.